


An Official Timeline of Major Staldar Drachenhearth's Life

by Tub



Series: New Kyla [1]
Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Original Work
Genre: F/F, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-10
Updated: 2019-02-10
Packaged: 2019-10-25 14:14:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17726774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tub/pseuds/Tub
Summary: Major Staldar Drachenhearth's life feels simple and straightforward, at first. He learns that this is not the case.The (condensed) story of how a dragonborn soldier joins a rebellion in order to save his city from corruption.Highlights from an on-going homebrew campaign. Updates as sessions are completed. Designed to be a companion piece to my "Kyla" prose and character studies, and fill in the gaps for more curious readers.





	An Official Timeline of Major Staldar Drachenhearth's Life

 

****

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**INFANCY-CHILDHOOD:**

  1. His entire brood/clutch was sold to the New Kyla military complex in exchange for powerful, magical artefacts by an Ancient White Dragon.
    1. Staldar never _really_ meets/bonds with his clan or any potential brood-siblings, robbing Staldar of the typical pride in heritage that dragonborn have. He has very little recollection of his youth as a whole.
  2. The next years of his life are spent being primed and groomed by the military, which was frankly not very hard to achieve due to Staldar’s naturally loyal and obedient nature and inherent draconic values of honor and accountability.
    1. His ‘childhood’ is devoid of joy, play, or normal childish activities, and he learns how to suppress his emotions from a young age.
  3. The dragonborn’s rapid growth cycle meant Staldar was inducted officially into the military at the age of just 15 and begins the true training process.



**MILITARY/ NOBLE GUARD LIFE:**

  1. Staldar, again, has a natural knack for completing tasks/orders very efficiently and without question or hesitation. This instills a kind of cold disdain in him for those who struggle through the rigors of basic training.
    1. Though not particularly prideful, having no strong sense of self other than the role designated to him, inadequacy/imperfection are not an option in his mind. This is a mix of inherent personality and conditioning.
  2. After completing basic training, Staldar is assigned to his first battalion, a group of disorderly humans, elves, and one dwarf. Being a part of this group is beyond frustrating for Staldar, a stickler for rules and decorum.



*** It is during this time, at around 18 years old, that Praetor Isa is elected and the exchange of power takes place. Shortly after, the former Praetor passes away from natural causes/age.

  1. Staldar is called to a meeting with his Senior Officer, who questions him about his time with the battalion. Staldar is honest about their behavior, having no attachment or reason to lie. Staldar is extracted from this group and reassigned to one of a higher rank.
  2. At 21, and in his second battalion, Staldar finds more fulfillment. Now mid-ranking, Staldar begins working alongside a group of mostly elves, but also a green dragonborn, Yorsashi. This group is well-conducted, skilled, and an overall better experience for Staldar.
    1. Yorsashi and Staldar naturally gravitate towards each other (Yorsashi more consciously so than Staldar, who struggles to form personal bonds), forming a loose allyship. They work exceedingly well together.
    2. Staldar excels in this battalion and it is here he learns and grows the most.
  3. Staldar spends roughly 5 years with this battalion before being reassigned again by the same elven SO for his continued proficiency. He is given the title of Senior Officer.
    1. Becoming an SO allows Staldar much time for self-led training, and thus leads to his training as an Eldritch Knight. This is also when he commissions and binds Filkiati, his greatsword, to himself.
  4. As a Senior Officer, Staldar takes up the duty of training up recruits. These are some of the ‘cruelest’, but not necessarily the unhappiest years of Staldar’s life. He earns a reputation for being strict, frightening even, but typically just in doling out discipline, and this creates a strange adoration dynamic among those training under him.



**Notable Incidents:**

  1. Staldar receives a complaint about noise from one of the tents that make up the barracks. Staldar bursts in on a group of soldiers, drunk on contraband liquor. He commands the surprised and certainly frightened soldiers to fall in line outside with all the bottles. He then tells the band of drunks to start chugging, much to everyone’s confusion. This of course creates some… very violently ill soldiers. “You see what it does? You think it's fun to break the rules, poison yourselves? How can you perform your duties while compromised? You forget yourselves, your purpose here.” When all are too sick to finish the remaining bottles, he has them hold all the bottles up, full and empty alike, and one by one takes his sword and cuts through them deftly. His final command to the group is to clean up the, now disgusting and dangerous, broken glass filled yard.
  2. A cadet tells on another group who have been secretly leaving the base (which is against code) on their off days to visit a brothel. Staldar decides to wait in their tent for their return, polishing his sword. Upon their return, Staldar begins a simple line of questioning. “Have you enjoyed your free time, do you think you've been spending your time productively?” One cadet makes the mistake of trying to lie, and Staldar tells them to run 100 laps. And if they were still upright after that 100 more. Staldar has no tolerance for dishonesty.
  3. Through a trainee, Staldar learns that another SO of the same rank (an elf, Sylvus) has not only been holding onto confiscated contraband for his own use, but has been using his authority to make advances and coerce cadets into inappropriate acts. Enraged, Staldar confronts the SO as soon as is possible, going to their quarters. Barging in, he finds Sylvus in the middle of manipulating a young woman under Staldar's command into indecent acts. The cadet flees to safety with relief, and as soon as Sylvus tries to explain himself, Staldar throws a swift punch through his jaw. Sputtering and surprised, the elf tries to speak again, but Staldar winds him with another blow to the gut. Now downed and quiet, Staldar growls, “Stay away from my cadets… and throw out all that fucking trash you keep.”


  1. The incident with Sylvus marks a turning point for Staldar, and after meeting with the same elf who has given Staldar his assignments, Staldar is given an non-optional reassigment to a Special Operations group, Tiamat’s Fangs. He is 31.



**TIAMAT’S FANGS**

  1. Staldar is given a few days to wrap up as an SO (to some cadets’ disappointment, to other trainees’ relief). As the new leader of the Fangs, he relocates to new, private barracks with his new team, four other dragonborn.
    1. Prith (blue), unspecified magic user, vain and cocky, loves to stir the pot and say exactly the right things to get under Staldar’s skin. He is flirtatious and promiscuous. He wields a staff-like spear.
    2. Hekkras (red), barbarian-fighter, hot-headed and brutish, Hekkras is quick to anger and ready to fight at a moments notice. He often challenges Staldar’s authority, but ultimately backs down. He falls for Prith’s manipulations/seductions and they have a hot-and-cold, hate-filled series of flings. He dual-wields warhammers.
    3. Krax (black), potion-master/rogue, Krax is reserved, a quiet and mysterious person, antisocial, and very smart. He is knowledgeable in potions, poisons, alchemical processes, using these in combat.He wields a sickle (typically coated in poison).
    4. Yorsashi (green), rogue/ranger/archer/arbalist, a familiar face! Yorsashi tends to play mediator for the group, the friendliest and most empathetic of the bunch. He fights with a crossbow at range, daggers in close-combat.



*** Staldar (and all the Fangs) meet Isa face to face in a combination ceremony/military ball celebrating the induction/indoctrination of Tiamat’s Fangs.

  1. The Fangs are a supremely successful group, taking on the most dangerous and delicate of missions among the guard/military, including tracking down and eliminating dangerous individuals and organizations. These missions can be in-and-out jobs, or sometimes can extend over a year.



*** It is about this time that Isa’s reign starts entering a decline, just 5 years before meeting Staldar for the second time.

  1. Staldar’s time with the Fang’s is his longest, most successful campaign, but things start to fall apart after an impressive 15 years.
    1. Staldar and Yorsashi have fallen for each other hard over the years, but a mix of complications keep them from talking about it until Staldar suffers a near fatal injury. Staldar, afraid of his feelings and what could happen, rejects Yorsashi, and they have a falling out.
  2. Catastrophic Mission/”The Incident”/9 Innocents
    1. The team receives intel regarding an organization of rogue alchemists have been making and distributing illegal, experimental, and dangerous potions. Due to the nature of what the team was up against, a choice had to be made, as suggested by Hekkras and Prith-- do the mission by the play-book, infiltrate and try to apprehend the offenders manually, putting themselves at an unusually high risk, but potentially keeping overall collateral low, or simply rig the alchemists base of operations to be demolished via explosives to ensure success and to protect the greater populace, but potentially sacrifice some bystanders in the process. Staldar decides on a compromise-- the team would attempt to handle the mission through infiltration and detainment, but at the first signs of failure, explosives would be at the ready to detonate.Upon finding and engaging the alchemists, the combatants begin chugging potions, becoming very powerful and unstable beings, and are nearly impossible to fight against. Staldar gives the command to evacuate and prepare for detonation. They do manage to successfully evacuate, and the explosives go off, but something goes wrong, presumably the explosions causing strange reactions with the materials used and potions made by the alchemists. Due to the now uncontrolled explosion, a neighboring building also topples, a simple apartment building. The outcome of the mission had essentially leveled an entire block. The Fang’s ended up being first-responders for Staldar’s mistakes. They pull seven deceased residents out of the wreckage, two more dying in Staldar’s arms, bringing the death toll to nine. Three residents are reported as unaccounted for, completely missing. This failure to predict such an outcome and the lives of those lost haunt Staldar, and mark the beginning of the end of his career.
  3. Shortly after The Incident, Staldar is tried for treasonous acts, mainly thievery. This of course is false, but (manufactured/falsified) evidence that Staldar cannot refute or disprove has him pinned, and he is dishonorably discharged and stripped of rank. He is 47.
    1. Notably, Yorsashi, Prith, and Hekkras refuse to testify. Krax chooses to testify in favor of Staldar. Some of Staldar’s former cadets also testify in favor of Staldar. Those who testify against Staldar are people Staldar had never seen before, or only heard of in passing.



**POST-MILITARY/PRE-RED HAND**

  1. Staldar drifts for a few months, living out of a small, barren, cheap apartment in a gritty part of New Kyla. Stripped of all purpose, Staldar languishes with no real identity, possessions, friends or family, nothing. Not even necessarily desperate for work, as his savings from his income keep him afloat. When doing nothing becomes too maddening, he takes very small, odd jobs, and this is how he gets involved in the inciting incident that introduces him to the Red Hand.



 

_\-----------------------marks the end of ‘backstory’ and beginning of actual campaign--------------------_

 

 **KEY CAMPAIGN EVENTS -** This does not fully represent the events of the entire campaign, only the points most notable to Staldar’s particular timeline, for the purposes of trying to be brief and concise regarding a long, complex campaign.

 

**THE RED HAND**

  1. After rescuing a tiefling, Alice, from capture, Staldar and Cheeps, a kenku child (rogue) are recruited into the Red Hand, led by Tosa, a drow man trying to reveal the truths of Kyla’s Council of Nobles and the Praetor. Dahia, a halfling tempest cleric, is recruited shortly after as well.
  2. Staldar, Cheeps, and Dahlia begin completing tasks for the Red Hand, revealing strange and terrible things happening throughout Kyla.
    1. They meet a mysterious elf who they dub ‘The Puppeteer’ (then later, find out he goes by Pagliacci). He reveals that he is aware of the Red Hand, and intercepts their attempt to retrieve a powerful, magical gemstone.
    2. Investigating the disappearance of one of Tosa’s informants, Folduin, (and romantic partner) in the quarantined section of the city, the Restricted zone, they discover a cleric-turned-wight had been producing undead beneath the abandoned cathedral there. There they find Folduin, long-dead. They also discover a camp of people struggling to survive after the quarantine, separated from the rest of Kyla, and offer aid.
  3. Tosa, in confidence, reveals that he is the brother of Isa, and he hasn't been able to reach Isa, suspecting some plot or corruption or foul play. Staldar, in a gesture of trust, gives Tosa his medallion signifying his position in the Fangs, and agrees to take the lead when the time comes.
  4. Cheeps, Dahlia, and Staldar all prep for their siege on the palace. Everything goes mostly according to plan, but the three must separate from the rest of the group as they near Isa’s rooms. Upon reaching Isa, they discover she’s been held captive, unable to move or speak for herself, a literal and figurative puppet of the Noble Council. Weakened from her captivity, Isa has only enough energy to open a portal for them to escape through. (Staldar is the the last one to use the portal and is seen by Krax, Hekkras, and Yorsashi.)



 

**THE UNDERDARK**

 

  1. Isa’s portal takes them all to what they discover to be her and Tosa’s home in the Underdark, before they made the journey to the surface. Isa immediately collapses, falling unconscious. Staldar and Dahlia do what they can to assist her, but her weakened, comatose state is a mystery to them.
  2. Dahlia casts Sending in an attempt to reach Tosa after they’ve all had a chance to recover. Tosa informs them that he and Alice have been captured and sent to Aldridge (Kyla’s prison) and to forget about the Red Hand and Kyla since they managed to escape. Staldar objects to this, and instead they plan to leave the Underdark and make their way back to Kyla, and, at some point, free Tosa and Alice from their imprisonment.
    1. Staldar receives a magical warning from Krax that, should he return to Kyla, he will be in danger.
  3. The three venture out into the town of Mizzdrift, in search of some way to revitalize Isa and figure out how to leave the Underdark. After meeting a local barkeep, Ilmya, and the head of the guard, (by some strange coincidence) Folduin, the group learns more of Tosa and Isa’s pasts and the town in general. They procure a strong healing potion for Isa.
  4. Isa finally awakens a bit after being fed the potion. Isa helps them find a way to the surface by setting up a meeting with the madam of a well-known (and respected) brothel, Catherine. Catherine’s position in Mizzdrift’s social hierarchy means she can grant them access to a ball hosted by one of the noble houses.
  5. With the ball one week away, the three find ways to pass the time. Staldar gets Filkiati enchanted, and spends his week as a volunteer guard. In an unusually violent accident, one of the many local alchemist shops explodes while Staldar is on duty. The accident is non-fatal but disturbing for the already tense dragonborn. Dahlia studies and assists with the local clergy (and pursues a budding romance with Catherine after sharing a strange kiss after meeting, a trade for her assistance). Cheeps offers the local spider farms his help.
    1. Staldar receives a magical missive from Krax offering aid in the form of supplies.
  6. They all prepare for the ball, a masquerade. They meet Amity, an eccentric, amnesiac drow druid who is also seeking a way up to the surface, and after he saves them from making a mistake, they agree to work together. At the ball they learn that the hosts could use some assistance transporting some goods to the surface. Things go sideways when a rival noble house ruins the party with a malicious animatronic, disguised as a fanciful gift. Upon defeating the strange animatronic, the hostess says she can arrange for them to be on their way the very next day.
  7. Wrapping up their business in Mizzdrift, Isa, Ilmya, Amity, Cheeps, Dahlia, and Staldar start their journey to the surface, facing some danger along the way. Facing off against a pack of Nothics, some secrets are drug out from the party. This results in some revelations, as Isa reveals to Staldar the truth about Tiamat’s Fangs, and the fact that she was responsible for his discharge, a last ditch effort to disband their cruelly formed group. Staldar is unsettled by this new information.
  8. They reach a town just before the surface. Here the party encounters a guard who is looking for Staldar, as he was the only one seen at the palace during their infiltration. Luckily, Staldar has decided to rest and stay with the carts, so he never encounters the guard. Amity and Cheeps, however, cause some kerfuffle after stealing the guard’s sword, and in an attempt to get out of a sticky situation, they trick the guard by giving him Filkiati (which is bound to Staldar), and Amity (only) loses a pinky for encouraging theft but later ‘returning’ the sword. They leave, and Staldar summons Filkiati back to himself. Crisis Averted, Sort Of!
  9. Staldar receives a strange vision in his sleep right before reaching the surface, a vision of an angelic figure being held captive, chained up, skewered on their own holy weapon, barely staying alive. Staldar recognizes this as important, not just a dream, but doesn’t know what to do with this vision, even after consulting Dahlia.



 

**RETURNING TO KYLA**

  1. They all make it to the outskirts of Kyla. With no solid plan to follow through from this point, and unsure of the state of the city since they’ve now been gone roughly over a month, Isa creates a magical gate into the Restricted zone, a neutral place to get their bearings and check on the encampment of survivors. To their surprise, however, the camp is entirely gone.
  2. They all split up to get a sense of what’s going on in the city. Dahlia returns to her temple to prepare a place for Cheeps and Staldar to stay. Staldar and Amity take a walk around the city and see that guards with strange automatons have begun patrolling the streets. Staldar decides to check the apartments he stayed at after his discharge out of curiosity, and is surprised to Krax there. Krax only offers a warning, but makes it clear that he’d rather assist Staldar than be forced to fight him at the behest of the Council. Krax leaves and Staldar discovers an encrypted not from Yorsashi in his mailbox. The note begs him not to come to the prison (implying that Yorsashi is stationed there).
  3. Staldar also goes off on his own and retrieves a few things he’d known Tosa had hidden, a map, some money, and a crate of booze. They later find that the Red Hand’s base had been raided, stripped of all important documents, items, etc.
  4. Reconvening at Dahlia’s temple, they choose their next moves. The contents of the map reveals ancient aqueducts beneath the city after being held to the light. They also learn many things.
    1. A tiefling child has been executed, quite suddenly and without due trial, for accusations of demonic involvement. This is tied back to the Archbishop and the Council.
    2. There is a carnival/fair set up in town, the posters printed from military printing presses.
    3. A group of Kylan soldiers were spotted leaving the city, seeking information on ‘The Forgotten God.’ They were headed into the Boros mountains.
    4. The clockmaker that had been working for the Red Hand was taken from his home to ‘work’ in the industrial district, leaving his sick daughter, Clarise, to manage their business all alone.
    5. Orphanages around Kyla have been mysteriously destroyed.
  5. Talk of the ‘Forgotten God’ sparking interest, Amity reveals that he somehow knows the name of this God, Borok, and they connect this to Staldar’s strange vision from earlier. Dahlia offers to cast Commune in order to ask questions about Borok and determine if they should act on Staldar’s instinct to follow the guards into the mountains and intercept them.
  6. They perform the ceremony and decide to make the journey into the mountains. There is a monastery on the way, and it’s here they meet Gilbert, a strange dwarf scholar and artificer who’s looking for information about the Temple of Borok. Since their goals align, they team up and find the temple, only accessible from a cliffside entrance.
  7. They explore the seemingly abandoned, long forgotten temple, discovering parts have been cordoned off. They also discover some important texts revealing the history of Borok (and a reason for Staldar’s strange tie to them, through his own vague connection to the twin deities, Saphikut and Daphiket).
  8. After a strange encounter with Kylan constructed ‘guards’ blocking their way, they make their way deeper into the temple. The temple has shimmering dust strewn about in various places, and they learn that this is actually the remains of fallen angels.
  9. They enter the final chamber and find the angel from Staldar’s vision. They release the angel from its bonds and heal them as best they can in the moment. However, this means undoing the magic done to keep the angel, and Borok, suppressed, which is part of deal made between some unknown Kylan nobles and powerful devils. With the deal broken, devils swarm the chamber in a bid to subdue them all, but they manage to defeat the swarm, and properly free the angel, and subsequently Borok. With Borok free, they believe the people of Kyla may be motivated to stand up to the Council’s mistreatment of them and their city, their fighting spirit reignited.
    1. Dahlia flees the temple in a fit of grief, after seeing something disturbing during the battle.
  10. They part with Gilbert, who stays behind to study the temple further. Cheeps, Amity, and Staldar make their way back to the city a little more slowly. Returning to Dahlia’s temple, they find that Catherine made a hasty journey to the surface to be with Dahlia, and Isa and Ilmya have been busy establishing Ilmya’s new tavern and inn, the Spider’s Den. This becomes the new hub for their group.



 

**THE JAIL BREAK**

 

  1. The group refocuses on trying to free Tosa and Alice from their imprisonment. Cheeps takes the lead in figuring out their next move, gathering information that leads them into the underbelly of Kyla, down into the aqueducts.
  2. Krax passes some information over to Cheeps and Dahlia for Staldar, revealing that Hekkras is being held captive in the academic district, being experimented upon.


  1. They meet a strange creature, a (mostly) benevolent Beholder who simply values information and secrets. They trade secrets with the Beholder for information, mainly, how to infiltrate the prison. The Beholder reveals that only one person has ever escaped the prison, and, oddly enough, they met him on their way down. They talk the former prisoner, Kliner, into helping them, and he begrudgingly agrees.
  2. An odd traveler turns up at the Spider's Den, a firbolg named Norgol, and mild conversation turns serious as it's revealed that his daughter is also imprisoned under false charges. Needing all the help they can get, they agree to help Norgol in return.
  3. Kliner gives them a map of the internals of the prison with fairly detailed notes about how he facility is guarded.
  4. Staldar asks Dahlia to contact Krax to try and arrange a meeting. Krax agrees to meet, and they discuss the whereabouts and statuses of the rest of the rest of the Fangs. Then Staldar requests he pass a message on to Yorsashi, which he does. Staldar gets a message the very next morning from Yorsashi asking to meet at his home that evening. Nervous, anxious to try and mend his relationship with Yorsashi, but scared to put him in harm's way, Staldar spends the day preparing.
  5. He meets with Yorsashi that night, and, after Staldar has apologized for his past behavior and putting him at risk, they catch up a little, Staldar explaining his involvement with the Red Hand and the truth about the Council holding Isa captive. And then he explains Tosa’s wrongful imprisonment, and their plans to free him. Yorsashi gives Staldar his badge from Aldridge, a badge that will keep him safe from the automaton guards in the prison. Staldar, surprised and touched that Yorsashi would show such trust so quickly, and feeling the need to be honest with Yorsashi, finally confesses that he was and is still in love with Yorsashi, and that he regrets ever making him doubt that. They share an intimate embrace for some time before Staldar reluctantly takes his leave.
  6. The next morning they all continue to prep and plan for the jailbreak, dropping off the badge with Clarise to duplicate, when Isa brings forward a newspaper declaring that inmates at Aldridge are scheduled for execution the next evening. They hasten and finalize their plans, and Staldar, worried, makes an unplanned visit to Yorsashi, begging him not to go to Aldridge the next day, for fear of putting him in danger. Yorsashi argues that this would be suspicious, and his involvement has already put him at risk. Staldar suggests he leave the city, if only temporarily, but Yorsashi refuses. Desperate to keep Yorsashi safe and out of ideas, Staldar begrudgingly suggests that he stay at the Spider’s Den, where he would be relatively safe. Yorsashi agrees to this, and Staldar hurries back to inform the others of this. Cue Yorsashi moving into the Spider’s Den with a bunch of rebels and also the Praetor and its Hella Awkward but Sweet.
  7. They sneak their way into the jail while Dahlia acts as a distraction. They manage to pull off the jailbreak with only one close scrape, rescuing Alice, Tosa, and Norgol’s daughter Juniper. They all manage to escape, but many other prisoners also escape back into the city, creating unintended, but opportune chaos in the area.



 

**REBUILDING THE REBELLION**

 

  1. The party spends a little time recuperating from the excitement and chaos of Aldridge, and give Alice, and Tosa especially, some time to recover. Staldar and Dahlia help Ilmya expand the basement of the Spider’s Den, turning it into a more official hub for further planning.
  2. Staldar and Tosa have a reunion heart-to-heart, and they discuss the months they were apart. The other party members eavesdrop, and Cheeps hears that the close allies of the Red Hand, Captain Sandy and the crew of the Valkyrie, likely did not make it out alive, as their airship fell into the ocean. Cheeps hurries away to investigate this, having grown close to Captain Sandy and her crew.
    1. Amity is also gone, having his memories restored at the temple of Bahamut.
  3. As the party starts to discuss their next priority, Cheeps returns with news that the crew of the Valkyrie were spotted working at the carnival, insisting they check it out right away. This creates some conflict, but they ultimately decide to follow through with this and decide to pursue this lead.
  4. They learn that the carnival is a not-so-subtle recruiting effort, members of the Kylan guard running many of the games. They find one member of the crew, Eva and Lyn, a pair of conjoined twins, running a side attraction of oddities. She explains that the rest of the crew are part of a show in the big-top, and to stay and see it. They stay for the show but when the crew begin to impale one another in a far-too-realistic manner, not just play-fighting, everyone realizes that something is wrong. Pagliacci reveals himself to be the (no pun intended) ring-leader of the carnival, using an Oblex to impersonate their fallen allies (including Eva and Lyn). Staldar manages to land a blow on the elf before he escapes, leaving them to do battle with an Oblex. The Oblex eats at the party’s memories as it attacks, and the encounter is full of close calls. With the party narrowly escaping with their lives, though confused and with some memory loss, and they leave the carnival with the realization that the crew of the Valkyrie is truly no more.
  5. The party has an emotional evening, recovering from the horror the day. Cheeps tearfully expresses a longing to leave Kyla with the party, leave the city to its own devices. Staldar, feeling as though he had failed Cheeps, begs him to be patient and to stick it out a little longer, and that he doesn’t have to continue going on missions with them. Cheeps, possibly from confusion, calls Staldar ‘dad’ just before falling into an exhausted sleep. Staldar, distressed, seeks out Yorsashi, and the two discuss the events of the day, and then break some of the tension around their relationship, and they sleep in the same bed for the first time. (Their memories are restored overnight.)
  6. They spend the next few days resting and recovering and getting ready for Winter Solstice. Some of the party enjoy a snow day, but Cheeps, still in mourning, is approached by the Raven Queen, and offered a boone. Cheeps tells Amity, but asks that he doesn’t tell Staldar, and he begrudgingly agrees.
  7. Ilmya hosts a Winter Solstice party, and the party exchanges gifts and makes merry for the day. Staldar gifts Yorsashi with a ring, enchanted to to be able to locate a matching ring of his own. They share a touching moment then rejoin the party. Ilmya gives a passionate speech about the state of Kyla. (Cheeps is approached by the Raven Queen, becomes a warlock.)
  8. The holiday ends and they all return to choosing their next steps. Staldar puts forth a wish to help Hekkras escape his own confinement. The party agrees and they begin planning their new mission. They waste little time, sneaking into the facility holding him disguised as cleaning staff. They quickly sneak through with little struggle. Hekkras, bound and confined to a barren room, physically (grew more draconic, sprouting wings) and mentally altered from extensive drug experimentation, doesn’t recognize Staldar right away, but after they speak for a short time, he starts to recall. They free Hekkras from his restraints, but before they can leave, Hekkras leads them into the enclosure of some monster being kept at the facility, but the beast had burrowed itself a cavern. Following after Hekkras, they find him having already slain a monstrosity, only to be attacked by two more. They manage to defeat the terrible creatures and escape. Hekkras almost leaves, but Staldar suggests he go to the monastery in the Boros mountains, where he can recover in peace. Hekkras agrees, and he flies with Amity to the monastery.
  9. The party’s next move is decided for them when Alice brings a hurt and distraught tiefling, Kindly, back to the Spider’s Den. Kindly managed to bring the journal of the Archbishop with her, revealing his motivations, actions, and plans, mainly, murdering tieflings due to their fiendish blood.
  10. The party splits, one group looking into how Kindly escaped, the other seeking assistance from an organization of tieflings, the Blood Club. Staldar, Norgol, Yorsashi, and Alice, go to the Blood Club, seeking a place for all of the potential victims to seek refuge, and to form an alliance. The leaders of this club agree to house any tieflings they rescue, and tentatively agree to an alliance. Meanwhile, the rest of the party finds Kindly’s escape route through the sewers, letting themselves into the cells where the Archbishop held them captive. Staldar, Norgol, and Yorsashi catch up to the others after their business with the club. They find the cells empty, but five new tieflings are staying in the apartment-like area just above, unaware of the horrors just below. They convince the tieflings to leave with them, and send them to safety with the Blood Club. However, the whereabouts of the Archbishop and the rest of the tieflings is a mystery, at least, until they learn that one of the magical circles in the basement is a teleportation circle, suspected to have sent them somewhere in the Nine Hells.
  11. The party travels through the teleportation circle and find themselves in a strange cavern, though it is clearly in use, full of rooms and corridors. Cheeps investigates a series of little halls covered in paintings (taking a specific one for himself), but gets frightened when a figure begins following him through the paintings. The party investigates, but the figure is gone, that is, until inky arms sprout from Cheeps' bag, grabbing him. The party, in a panic, dispel the magical paint monster. Despite the moment of terror, they recover and continue through the halls. They find little until they pass a pair a double doors, revealing the missing tieflings, bound in place by enchanted bands (much like how Isa was held captive). Cheeps breaks a band, but receives and electrical shock. With a little help from Dahlia and Norgol, Cheeps releases all the tieflings, but takes a fair amount of lightning damage. The tieflings are brought out quickly, taken to safety, before the party continues into a wide open room, full of pits. It's here they meet Pagliacci once again, but before they can fight him, he throws himself into the pit, and 'dies.' (No one believes this for a second.) The party is then set-upon by a transformed Archbishop, now an enormous monster (a Goristro), and some Bulezau. Dahlia nearly dies in the fight, but they manage to pull through and defeat all the monsters.
  12. They leave the abyss and make sure all the tieflings make it to the Blood Club. There the party secures allyship with the Club, and begin to question the significance of Pagliacci's continued involvement and what his apparent suicide meant. The elder of the Blood Club explains a cult that seeks immortality, and the concept of a 'Pagliacci' being a title and not a name, denoting a powerful but dangerous and chaotic individual. They also learn about the possibility of this Pagliacci possibly being able to transfer from vessel to vessel, killing off one form to inhabit another, meaning 'killing' him would prove difficult. The party begins devising ways to stop his reign of terror.
  13. The party, one-by-one, begin to confront Cheeps about his new knife (gifted by the Raven Queen) and magical abilities, fearing he's been tricked into something sinister. Staldar receives a missive from Krax, stating that Prith will be attending the theater soon, and decides to take advantage of this public appearance to reach out. The party spends a day preparing to attend the theater, acquiring clothes, tickets, and a Hat of Disguise to help mask Staldar. Catherine treats everyone to a lovely lunch. (Amity, the entire time, is babbling about a 'quadruple date.') Amity and Dahlia decide to learn more about the Raven Queen on their own, and through a series of questionable choices, end up delivering a threat to one of her fey agents, seeking audience with her. In a panic, realizing they've threatened a god, they rush back to the Spider's Den, only to draw the ire and confusion of Staldar. Rather than explain themselves, they run away.
  14. The next morning, Amity wakes to find a note on his pillow with a raven feather, firmly telling him to stop meddling or to expect consequences. He and Dahlia panic again, and decide they have to consult Staldar. Meanwhile, Staldar and Tosa discuss the future of their revolution, Staldar insisting that upsetting the balance of power will leave people vulnerable to exploitation, and someone needs to take the responsibility of leadership, and that person should be Tosa. Tosa tentatively agrees, but turns the question on Staldar, asking what role he wants when all is said and done. Staldar is unsure, and is given much to think about.
  15. Amity and Dahlia arrive back at the Den, and Staldar immediately asks them to join him in his quarters to explain themselves. Staldar, very angrily, insists they do not bring it up to Cheeps and do not interfere, but Amity passionately disagrees, incensing Staldar, who sets an ultimatum-- they leave Cheeps to his own devices, or Staldar ceases to play ally to Amity. Dahlia, frightened, asks everyone to calm down and set aside the conflict for the time being, to which Staldar agrees, upon the promise that they will discuss it more later, but not to interfere until then. Amity leaves the Den, but Cheeps stops him and gifts him with an (enchanted) feather. Amity attunes to it, and sacrifices some health to Cheeps, who gains some vitality. Everyone continues to prepare for the theater.
  16. They arrive at the theater, and immediately begin to notice some odd things-- an inordinate amount of guards, many armed with guns (an unusual sight), but take note that Prith is present, but surrounded by other nobility. As the performance wears on, Norgol notices some odd performers in the mix, decidedly out of place. But intermission comes and Staldar and Yorsashi try to gain access to the lounge where many of the nobles are mingling. They end up pulling a diversion with Cheeps, who keeps one of the staff occupied long enough for them to head in. Once in, they find Prith, but don't alert him as to what's happening right away, and try to get him alone. Once alone on one of the balconies, they explain what's been happening around Kyla and offer Prith a place among them. Prith admits that he he's being closely monitored, his time carefully managed by those in control of him, and any attempt to play double agent could end badly. They agree that the best course of action is to simply have Prith defect, and leave the theater with them.
  17. Below the balcony however, Norgol spots someone trying to listen in, and causes some commotion, distracting the eavesdropper, and alerting everyone above to wrap up. Everyone reconvenes and returns to their seats, and the performance continues, though some of the odd cast are missing. The performance comes to an end and the party begins to take their leave. However, before Prith can meet them in the lobby, one of the nobles near him draws out a poisoned blade and stabs Prith (who drops to 0 health and is nearly insta-killed). The party leaps into action, not engaging the enemy in such a public place, but trying to revive and protect Prith. They all manage to escape and have the attempted murderers apprehended by the guard. The party retires to the Spider's Den for the evening, exhausted.
  18. The next day, the group starts making plans to ignite the revolution. The party splits up for the day, investigating different avenues and possible allegiances. Norgol learns that the Blood Club will help them more if they deal with the Shil-kur (a mafia-like organization contracted by the Council to keep the working class compliant). Cheeps and Amity investigate the factories in the industrial district, learning more about the workers and the Shil-kur. Staldar, Yorsashi, and Dahlia briefly visit Hekkras and the temple of Borok, before deciding to try and find information about the refugees from the restricted zone. While in the restricted zone, they find that the undead left behind by Father Shiro are still shambling about the empty streets. An odd man named Shadar-kai (intentionally, we presume), reveals himself to the little group, apparently on 'assignment' to exterminate the lingering undead. The group offers help, being partially responsible for the undead's presence, and together they clean away the rest of the undead from the streets, and Dahlia banishes away the rest from the cathedral's basement. The group talk with Shadar-kai a bit longer, trying to see what he knows, and if he has any interest in joining their efforts. He tentatively agrees to a tenuous sort of alliance/friendship, offering Staldar and Dahlia tokens of appreciation, decorated raven feathers.
  19. Everyone returns to the Den for the day and take a little time to debrief. Staldar and Prith have a chat, Prith making himself at home, taking an expensive bottle from the bar. They talk a little about the past, about their new stations in life, and Staldar reveals that he's finally committed to Yorsashi. Prith admits that he regrets how he treated Yorsashi and is glad for them, going as far as to encourage Staldar to relax and simply let Yorsashi love him back. Staldar leaves to retire for the evening, but instead has a conversation with Yorsashi about their future together. They make vague plans to leave the city when their work is done. They cuddle briefly and Staldar gets nervous, and asks Yorsashi to tell him if there's anything more he wants out of their current relationship. Yorsashi reassures him that he's happy with whatever Staldar is willing to give, but does put sex on the table. Staldar, though flustered and nervous, accepts. (Session fade-to-black moment.👀 )
  20. Krax arrives in the morning, offering some assistance and information. The party makes plans to take down the Shil-kur for the Blood Club in order to solidify their alliance further. The Shil-kur are stationed at a factory, overseeing a job commissioned by the council, building parts for a mysterious machine. The plan: sneak into the factory, gather intel, destroy the machinery inside to halt progress on this secret machine. They begin carrying this out, using invisibility to slip in, but things begin to go awry quite quickly. Cheeps alerts a mage to his presence, and in a series of fumbles, with the mage attacking, the mage causes an explosion, and the rest of the factory goes on high alert. Cover seemingly blown, it's a mad dash for the party to rough up the Shil-kur and for Staldar to gather as much paperwork as possible. Staldar seizes an important-seeming elf from the main office of the factory and commands him to open up a safe. This done, in an unthinking moment, wanting the elf out of his way, he shoves him out of a window, and kills him. Having thoroughly disrupted operations there, the party makes a hectic escape.
  21. Staldar makes it back to the Den a while after everyone else (having been transmoged into a rat by Norgol in a desperate bid to escape the guards). Shaken by the events of the evening, thoughts muddled, he doesn't sleep that night. Yorsashi finds him in the morning, still awake, writing at his desk (the writing is a little incoherent, but formatted similarly to the reports he would write for the higher ups of the guard). In a short and confused conversation, Staldar is pulled from a flashback, the delusion that they're still a part of the Fangs. Staldar is perturbed and reticent for the rest of the day, but continues to perform his duties as if nothing is wrong.
  22. The party spends the day following up on all the intelligence gathered from the night before. They learn that the machine parts are for a literal war machine from the Hells, a machine with no pilot, built for pure destruction. For what purpose the council (and almost certainly Pagliacci) would have for this, no one knows, but they know it must be stopped before it's completed. There chance comes in the form of the Red Guard, a band of noble guards who want to rebel, unhappy with the way the guard has been turning on the people of Kyla. The Red Guard is planning the start of their own insurrection, and this gives the party easy access to where the machine is being built within the Kylan Guard Stronghold. Cheeps is disgruntled by the thought of allying with guards, even defectors, and is briefly chastised by Staldar, but Dahlia convinces him to put his distaste aside for the greater good. Staldar, after his episode, is reluctant to go to the Stronghold, afraid of suffering more flashbacks and putting the team in danger. Tosa tries to reassure him, and Staldar decides that they should spar again. Tosa agrees.
  23. Tosa and Staldar spar a little before the mission, and Staldar fights with all his might, and Tosa does the same, but this time, Staldar handily defeats Tosa, breaking Tosa's swords in the scuffle. Frustrated by this outcome, Staldar fumes and rages at himself, and Tosa, confused, urges Staldar to explain what is going on with him, why he's acting strangely. Staldar admits that he had asked to spar in order to test Tosa, see if he could still be Staldar in a fight, because he wants to know that there is someone he trusts that is strong enough to best him in battle. He makes Tosa promise to do everything in his power to stop Staldar, if he were to have another episode and put their mission and their friends in danger. Tosa agrees. Staldar also implores that, should anything happen to him, he will be there to support Yorsashi, and won't let Yorsashi do anything too risky out of grief or anger, and Tosa agrees to this as well. Staldar leaves to begins to prepare for the mission.
  24. They infiltrate the Stronghold with ease and begin to make their way through empty training facilities in order to reach the entrance that will lead them to where the machine is being kept. While moving through the training rooms, Staldar recognizes one of the rooms as the room he grew up in, and pauses briefly. He manages to shake off the memories and they all continue along until they find what they're looking for, the entrance to the underground caverns that exist beneath the Stronghold. They head down and before long, they've found the machine and the elves responsible for building it. Norgol, having acquired current guard armor along the way, attempts to lie to the elves, but doesn't know how to follow through and simply brings one of the elves to the others, where Dahlia uses magic (Geas) to get the elf to comply with the group. They enter the main chamber with the two other elves, one who is immediately terrified, the other mostly suspicious. Upon coaxing the terrified elf over, they learn that he's afraid of the guard, as they apparently killed others involved in the creation of the machine. This elf, Tanith, hates the machine, and once assured that the party aren't actually guards here to kill him, he's enthusiastic about destroying the machine.
  25. With Tanith's careful guidance, the party and Tanith work together to dismantle the machine's weapons. Cheeps takes on the first step, being small and dexterous, but a small misstep results in a mass electrocution, hitting Cheeps, Tanith, Dahlia, and Staldar. Tanith nearly dies, but with healers on hand, he pulls through, and continues to instruct them. The final step requires that the machine self-activates, however, so they devise a way to have the machine explode, using tanks of caustic fluids to cause it to combust. They carry this out, and the machine awakens, but quickly starts the process of igniting the tanks. The machine destroys itself, turned into an enormous scrap heap, and Tanith helps them collect the few remaining valuable pieces that can be salvaged from it.
  26. They flee the Stronghold, the guard beginning to catch on to what's happening, but with few reinforcements and taken by surprise, the Red Guard hold their own, and everyone escapes. However, as they make it into the city streets, a shadow is cast over the city, and everyone looks up to see an enormous black dragon perching itself on the palace in the noble district (not giving chase, simply watching). The streets have also erupted into chaos, Red Guard and regular guards getting into scuffles, citizens joining in, seeing a chance to attack the guards. But the party rushes back to the Spider's Den.



 

**THE BEGINNING OF THE END**

 

  1. In the time it takes to return to the Spider's Den, it has been closed and fortified, Isa and Tosa awaiting the party. There's some deliberation about what needs to be done, and quelling some general panic before an odd visitor lets themself into the tavern. This person is revealed to be an Arbiter of the Raven Queen, and they come with a few tokens (candies from the Nine Hells for Dahlia to give to Catherine, a black lotus flower that never wilts for Staldar to give to Yorsashi, a pair of enchanted drumsticks for Norgol (and nothing for Amity for being stubborn)). They also come with a request-- the Raven Queen has been trying to contain Pagliacci, who is revealed to be a very powerful demon, and offers the party a way to finally vanquish him. They must get near the demon and perform a ritual, using some key items. Staldar, Cheeps, and Norgol readily agree, but Dahlia and Amity are far more reluctant. They all eventually agree to take the Raven Queen's aid, even if all of their reasons for doing so differ.
  2. After this, Staldar takes the flower to Yorsashi, as well as makes a point of giving the ring that connects to Tosa's over to Yorsashi, thinking it for the best, in light of recent events. Staldar asks Yorsashi to trust Tosa, and Yorsashi (understandably) starts to worry that Staldar is 'calling in a substitute,' which Staldar vehemently denies. Yorsashi agrees, after some convincing, but under the condition that should something happen to himself, Staldar not close himself off from others, and Staldar agrees. Staldar explains a little more about his relationship with Tosa and his thinking behind this, but changes the topic, and they discuss their pasts a little. Yorsashi details his up-bringing-- being raised with his brood in the Revinae Woods, mostly left to fend for themselves in a test of 'survival of the fittest.' Staldar brings up the room in the stronghold, and his faint memories of growing up there, and how isolated and joyless it was, and the fact that he hasn't seen any white dragonborn since then, pondering where they went. The topic changes again, and they discuss their plans for after, and Staldar poses the possibility of having Cheeps join them, and Yorsashi agrees. They finally end their evening.
  3. Thus begins the final week of planning and preparation for the final revolt of the Citadel and the slaying of the demon. Krax appears in the Den and they discuss the dragon, as well as a few other things. A talk with Tanith reveals that the team who had originally drawn up the designs of the machine had been slaughtered, including the Clocksmith, Clarise's father. With this knowledge, and the state of affairs outside, Staldar insists they check on Clarise and, likely, offer her a place among them for the time being, for her own safety (and so she would not be left to grieve all on her own). They make it to her, deliver the news, to her great sadness, and they escort her back to the Den with some of her belongings.
  4. A little before they arrive back at the Spider's Den, Cheeps states that he doesn't want to 'end up like her' (his way of saying, he doesn't want to lose a father, like Clarise). Staldar tells Cheeps that they can talk about it when they get back, and they do. To start the awkward conversation, Staldar presents Cheeps with little present (a mechanical toy made by Clarise), and offers an apology for being snappish. When questioned further, Staldar explains[ why he said what he said](https://youtu.be/A_GvHbFoB5U?t=4612) when he lashed out. Staldar reassures Cheeps that despite his disposition, he's proud of Cheeps for all the things he's done and faced. He also makes Cheeps promise that, when the time comes, he would put his own safety before Staldar's, and Cheeps begrudgingly agrees.  



TBC

 

 

 

Along the way back, Cheeps makes a statement about not wanting to '

 

 

why he said what he said

 

**Author's Note:**

> Note: A 'Praetor' is an elected leader, not unlike a president, though they lead for the rest of their lives, as the Praetor is typically Elvish, and leads a long life. The Praetor is treated a bit like royalty, though they may not necessarily have a directly royal or noble background.


End file.
